Silent SOLDIER
by Fentus
Summary: AU. Will the addition of a silent fighter be enough to change the flow of history in the making? Follow the quest from start to finish from the view of a quiet observer. OCxVin much later
1. Beyond Retribution

**This is my first Final Fantasy VII fanfic, so I hope you like it. This will have an OC as a major character, so don't get upset. **

**I will probably need someone to be a beta reader for me, because I have not played FF VII much…ok almost not at all, and just trying to get it accurate from a walkthrough guide will only get you so far. So a beta is required eventually. Any help offered will be greatly appreciated.**

**Well…Let's get to it then…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any characters related to it in any way. If I did I wouldn't be begging for a beta reader to help me now would I. Only my OC is mine…If you try to take him I will hunt you down and kill you where you stand.**

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Fire. All around me. Chaos and Death.

Sephiroth…How could you do this? How could you kill all these innocent lives? Leave everything around you in ash and destruction? Leaving men, women, children; young and old alike to burn or bleed to death at your feet without pity.

You were always so strong…how could you loose yourself…leave your sanity in ruin? What did you find in that library that would reduce you to a psychotic madman?

You were my General, commander, confidant…my friend. Why? Why do you force me to hate you? You are one of the only ones that treated my like any other…despite my looks and disability. What could make you throw that all away?

What makes us traitors, Sephiroth? Why do you deny us an explanation? You are leaving us, your friends and subordinates, to do the unthinkable…you are giving us no choice but to take action against you…You are forcing us to have to kill you.

All this senseless suffering and pain makes me want to scream…to shout…to cry out to Gaia in anyway I can to make this stop…to save those that didn't disserve this.

But…I cannot…I have a job to do, I can't use what I don't have to fix this; I must take action, and Zack agrees with me. He probably doesn't want to do this even more than I don't want to.

We heard that our guide, the young girl named Tifa, went after Sephiroth to try and help her father at the Mako reactor. If we don't get their soon…

Me and Zack. Two SOLDIER's on a mission to try and stop the most powerful man in existence…our friend.

Zack and I find the young girl at the bottom of the stairwell…badly injured…nearly dead. She had been driven to try and get revenge on Sephiroth after she found her father dead with Sephiroth's sword, Masamune, impaled thru him.

Zack tells me to watch over her. To wait for him to confront Sephiroth and do what he must. I can do nothing but obey him. I watch over the poor girl, trying desperately to keep her from bleeding to death from the terrible wound across her stomach. She is unconscious but I can tell she is in pain. I want to comfort her, ease her pain somehow, but I don't have any Heal Materia, and I can't say anything to help her calm down, so I wait.

I can hear Zack yelling at Sephiroth…His usually calm and happy voice is sharp and cold, and filled with confusion, sadness, and rage. I can hear the sounds of combat. I can hear the clang of metal upon metal as Zack fought his Commander. I can also hear gasps and slight noises of pain and the sickening sound of a sword upon flesh, but the worst thing is that I can tell that all those pain filled sounds are only coming from Zack…He is losing.

I can do nothing as my unnatural glowing eyes, even more unusual than a regular SOLDIER, follow the trail of the broken rag doll form of one of my best friends, his large sword falling at the doorway to the inner sanctum. He slams into one of the small Mako tanks, denting it, and lying limply along it, sparks flying all around him; him not even flinching.

I abandon my watch over the girl and run to my friend and try to revive him. He is out cold; blood running down his face, from under his sleeve, from his side, and many other injuries I know are hidden from me. Sephiroth…How could you do this to your friend?...If he can do this to Zack…he can't truly be my friend…

I stand and draw my weapon, watching the green light of the Mako around me as it dances off of both blades; If Zack won't be able to fight, I will take over for him.

I rush into the fight with my General, trying to show no mercy. I try all in my power to stop him…But he wins easily. I thought that Zack would have been able to at least slow him down, but he seems stronger now than ever before…How can that be?

He sends me out the same door like Zack. I fly sideways and crash into a Mako tank on the other side of Zack, my double blade slipping from my grasp. I try to cry out in pain with no luck, I also try desperately to keep awake and get back up. I am unable to.

I hear footfalls coming this way fast. Thru my blackening vision I can see our young Trooper friend, Cloud, run up the steps grabbing Zack's Buster sword on the way… Maybe…Maybe if one of those thought to be weak went against him…He may have a chance…Kill him Cloud…He is beyond redemption…

I hear Zack trying to move, I turn my head agonizingly in his direction. He does the same. We lock gazes…We don't need words…Cloud has to do it. With that last silent communication between us I slip into darkness…

We are counting on you, Cloud…Win…Please win…Sephiroth cannot get away…We cannot let him destroy other homes, towns, cities,…lives. End the madness…Sephiroth asked us to save him from the evil of the world…he would want us to save him from the evil in himself.

Free him…Please, Cloud…Zack……Gaia…Set him free…

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**What do you think? Is it good? Bad? Just let me know...don't be shy. My OC will be properly introduced in the next chapter.**

**I hope to hear good things from you all and I hope you enjoy my story. See ya.**


	2. The Choices Made

**_Hey readers,….It seems that my story isn't really popular right now but I hope it picks up. I would like to thank my only reviewer, _****_Bleeding Heartgrenade, for her kind words, and support. I would also like to thank one of my Betas, Thozmp Corris, for helping me out by writing the sparing scene for me…Thank you!_**

**_I will need to have a Beta reader for this fic eventually, so if you are interested then please don't hesitate to contact me…any help would be greatly appreciated._**

**_One final thing…I would like my fans help. I need to give my OC, Dante, a nickname. If any of you have a good Idea for a name then let me know. Thanks in advance!_**

_**Here is the first official chapter for my story. I hope that you enjoy it, and please remember to review.**_

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**_1 year before Nibelheim_**

"Congratulations men." A pudgy, graying haired officer barked at the rows of young, staring faces "You have now graduated into the most powerful military force on the planet. You may be 3rd class SOLDIERs but you must serve your purpose with honor, skill, and the cold ruthlessness you have been trained for."

Not a soul dared move a muscle as their commanding officer, Falk, ranted and raved at the fresh SOLDIERs. Today was their first day as official SOLDIERs ant they were eagerly awaiting the moment they have been waiting a long time for…getting their first real weapon.

Some of the smart SOLDIER newbies would wonder why they never got to train…or even really touch a true bladed weapon until now. Until late in their training as cadets they were not even allowed to touch a real metal weapon, and only then they would start training with blunted swords.

Falk continued ranting, "behind me on the wall are all weapons approved by ShinRa, I will call out your name by way of your final scores on your SOLDIER exams; in other words the better you are, the sooner you get to choose your weapon of choice.

Once you make your choice, take a seat in the benches and start getting a feel for your weapon, learn it, clean it, get comfortable with it, because the weapon you choose is the only weapon you will get from us. If any of you pansies feel that you have made the wrong choice you will have to pay for a replacement for yourself, ShinRa will take no responsibility for you."

A few SOLDIERs shifted nervously at that; obviously they have no idea what type of weapon would best suit them, even though the whole congregation had to go thru a class to find the best weapon type for each. Many noticed the plight of the few nervous ones and most couldn't help but sneer at their pain and inner torment, others just rolled their eyes at the stupidity and went back to listening.

Commander – finished and looked at his list, starting the proceedings. "Walker, Sarim…" A tall red head with brown eyes stepped out of the ranks and walked confidently to the weapon wall, when he made his choice the next was called.

The fourth name called sent a ripple of shock thru all the inductee's spines… "Mercurial, Dante…" a young man made his way from the ranks to the wall. If the other inductees were allowed to speak out to each other there would be a collective frenzy of shouts of cheating or plain disbelief.

The young man named Dante Mercurial mostly looked like any other SOLDIER inductee with his normal short black hair, honey tanned skin, average height, and normal facial features. What set him apart from all the others was the fact that he had a totally different build than the others and…his eyes…

He was built like a professional runner rather than a fighting soldier. He was by far the fastest of all the Inductees this term and of an average strength. His most prominent feature, his eyes, had become legend among the troops.

Many would have thought that someone like him would be the scapegoat and punching bag material for the bullies that run rampant thru the ranks, but Mercurial could stop even a 1st Class SOLDIER just by looking at them. His eyes were completely emotionless and cold, the color showing the coldness most with the fact that they were the color of ice.

The new 3rd class made his way patiently but methodically to the weapons displayed on the wall, analyzing them; their strengths and weaknesses, trying to find the best choice to balance out his attributes and skills.

Commander Falk nodded almost imperceptibly at the fact that the inductee was truly looking for what was best. Most of the recruits in the past had just gone for what they thought would make them stick out, be noticed without thinking of the possible dangers of getting the weapon that was disastrous for them. He waited…

Dante lightly touched the handle of a long spear; it wasn't the best choice he could make but if he couldn't find the right one then this would make a good alternative. He kept going down the line.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he stood in front of a large ax. He could feel it in his bones…this was the one. He reached out and lifted the large ax from the wall and made his way to the benches. The commander caught one of his haunting blue eyes and nodded in approval and Dante bowed to him slightly as the commander called the next name on the list.

When Dante sat down he started studying his new weapon. It was a large and intimidating double bladed battle ax. The thickest portion of the metal went to the bridge of his nose with the top of the blades stopping at the top of his head. The two blades of the ax were different. One side was thicker than the other and had a more sword like, flatter edge, "Slicing through bone…" he mused lightly in his surprisingly deep voice, betraying his body structure. The other side was rounder with a lot more blood channels running thru it, it also had tiny saw like teeth on the edge to grab and not slip. He smirked, "Disemboweling." He hefted it. He noted that the long handle for the ax seemed at first glance to be made of wood but upon closer inspection realized that the center of the rod had been hollowed out and filled with adamantine steel giving it a lighter weight but made it solid and nearly unbreakable.

Dante couldn't help but smirk in cruel approval at his choice. With his build that was made for speed rather than strength, this blade would give him the strength he lacked physically but also make it so he could still work with the speed that makes him powerful and different.

Dante reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a new whetstone and a rag. He started going over the whole blade with the rag to clean it off then started to carefully sharpen the edges of the ax, occasionally stopping to go over the fresh edge with the rag to clean it of shards and check the sharpness.

While he worked he occasionally looked at all the other new 3rds as they went to work on learning their new weapons, seeing as everyone had one now…which meant that they were going to have to start practice fighting soon.

Falk's booming voice caught every SOLDIERs attention, "Alright, Men. It is time to find out if you made the right choice. You are going to be sparing with each other, so find your partner when you are called. Let's begin."

Dante tuned the commander out and continued to wipe his ax down while waiting for his name; he didn't have to wait long. "Mercurial…you are with Spire."

Dante looked up immediately and locked eyes with his sparring partner. His name was Zeke Spire; He was his height with light brown hair kept in a short pony tail at the base of his neck. He had brown eyes and the same build of a speed specialist. It seemed that he picked a weapon that would keep him fast. He had chosen a rapier that seemed to be a half length longer than a regular one, good for a longer distance, but weaker if the weapon is struck.

When everyone was paired off the commander gave them their instructions. "You are to spar until first blood is drawn, but try not to cause to serious an injury, these are your team mates and we don't want to send someone to the infirmary." There were a few snickers heard thru the ranks but the next thing heard made everyone in attendance shudder. "There will be a mandatory appointment to the infirmary for your first official mako injection to be filled within the week." All the SOLDIERs remembered the hated feeling of their mako sensitivity test, and hated having to go thru it on a regular basis from now on. "Be sure to get that done. Now begin."

Dante gave his ax a twirl in his hand and faced off against Spire, and Zeke gave a few quick wrist twists and pointed his rapier at Dante. They faced off, locked eyes, and began the spar.

Dante decided to try to end it quickly by rushing in with a quick jab from the top of his ax to stun Zeke. Dante didn't expect to find the tip of Zeke's rapier waiting, and quickly turned his ax up to deflect the sword and keep himself from being impaled. Dante's momentum kept him going and shoulder checking Spire, knocking the other off balance. All ready in a decent position Dante brought the ax around for a shallow cut, but Zeke reacted just in time to avoid the blow.

The two combatants squared off once more, this time Zeke took the initiative and rushed for an opening. Dante blocked the thin blade with the flat of his ax, and shifted for a vertical slash at his opponent. Zeke managed to avoid the blow by moving towards Dante's backside, but the black haired man followed up with a quick rising slash that might have caught Spire if it were a lighter blade. Zeke swayed just outside of the axe's arc, and was about to finish up with a quick stab of his own when the ax came around a second time; Dante having used the momentum of the swing to carry him all the way around.

Zeke gave a quick jump out of the way; he would have laughed if he weren't so frustrated. He went on the offensive, this time making shallow jabs that he could quickly follow up with others. Dante hid behind his weapon, thankful for its size that made it useful as a temporary shield. He could tell that there wasn't much force behind the blows, so when the next flurry started, Dante pushed back with the side of his ax, once more putting Zeke off-balance.

Dante rushed in for a quick horizontal slash, which Zeke quickly sidestepped, putting him at Dante's side. Spire took the opportunity to slash at Dante rather then stab, the distance being too impractical for his longer then average sword. Dante had planned for this though, and quickly brought his hands together, pulling the head of the ax towards himself, and the shaft moving towards Zeke, catching the brown haired man in the chest and knocking him back.

Dante could tell that the sparring wasn't going to last much longer. He could here the gasps of pain from wounds being made, heavy panting from the exhausted, and the occasional call for medical aid. Dante rolled his eyes obviously some of his fellow 3rds didn't realize their own strength. He focused back fully on Spire when he felt something wrong with his opponent.

Dante's eyes widened in shock at the look on Zeke's face; His eyes seemed glassed over and he had a look of frustration, anger, and a hint of what looked like almost insanity in his eyes…Dante's breath hitched when it hit him, "Bloodlust" was whispered almost imperceptibly. Dante had to finish this now before someone is hurt. He put all he had into a final burst of speed to get in range, and was able to surprise Spire enough to give him a shallow slice on the wrist.

Dante stopped and panted as he looked at Zeke as he looked in frozen shock at the slightly bleeding wound on his wrist. Dante was about to go over to him and check on him when he heard him…growl. It was an insanely feral sound, and Dante knew instantly that he was in trouble. He got into a defensive position and waited for what was inevitable. Spire looked up at him and Dante's blood froze over, his eyes were completely insane and filled with rage.

Spire shot at him with dangerous speed and began trying to get to him behind his ax blade, which was being used as a shield. Dante tried to get thru to him by trying to talk between pants, "Spire!...Stop! The spar is over!..." Dante yelled for Commander Falk before trying again on Zeke, His normally deep voice slightly shrill with worry and panic, "Please stop!...You can win if you want if you will just stop this! Come to your senses, Spire!...You have what it takes; Don't throw it away!...ZEKE!"

With a final snarl of rage Zeke shot forward when Dante had lowered his ax just enough to get at him when he yelled his name the final time. With his wrist shaking with rage, Zeke's blade found his throat and carved a deep, jagged wound across his neck.

Dante's Icy eyes widened in shock and pain before he fell to the ground and clamped his hands around his throat to try and stop the bleeding. He tried to yell out for help but the only sound he could make was a slight gurgling sound as blood poured out of his wound and from his mouth. His eyesight dimmed as he started loosing consciousness. When he collapsed he felt himself being turned over and cradled in someone's arms, and he could hear muffled yells and broken conversation.

"…t happe…ire!" "I do…r, I…n't re…ber!" "We ne…o ge..rcuria…he infir…!…all doc…Hojo! He…ill be th…est…help hi…!"

Dante slipped into unconsciousness, still holding his ax in a death grip, as he felt himself being picked up.

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_**Well, there you have it….Please let me know how it is; I would like your input.**_

_**Remember to Read and Review please. Also remember to send in nicknames; any will do. **_

_**Have a great day, everyone! Love ya!**_


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